“ Yeh, they did run into some trouble this year—” “Six-Three so far isn’t too bad though, considering all those injuries they had—look at Palmer—and Carlucci! Wow!” The boy said.
“That was bad—”
“Watch them next year though. When did they last have a bad year, Tiger, anyhow?”
“Heck—I don’t know—!”
“When do I have to let them know by, anyway?”
“Well—I think by the first of the year—Jim—”
The boy nodded. And was quiet once more.
Pretty Maids All in a Row 225 Tiger thought about the boy playing for some top university—State, he hoped—He would make the grade anywhere, of course, but Tiger had a soft spot in his heart for his old alma mater, no matter how much it had grown and changed. Tiger gazed fondly at the boy. He would be a pretty good bet for All-American, just one more started on his way by him. Chalk it up. Yes, Tiger mused, he would be chalking him up, sure enough. He could pull a pass out of the air like an angel, no less. And run—like a halfback, almost. Tiger admired the lad.
“You could play basketball too,” Now Tiger said. For the boy was great at that too.
“I’d want to.”
“Not a bad little team they’ve got there—last year they hit the NCAA Finals—I guess you know—’’
“Yeh, I know.”
Now Tiger felt the boy should go. After all, what could he do further for him here? He was a strong lad, he could take care of himself. Surcher had asked him to “Get him back” to him, but that didn’t worry him. He would just let the boy go back by himself, of course.
“Well, Jim—” He said to the boy, “I guess you’d better go back to our friend.” And he grinned. “Unless you have something more you want to talk over with me.” He paused. “Do you?”
The boy shook his head, “No—” he said, “I don’t.”
“O.K.—” Tiger said, nodding, and giving that friendly grin.
The boy got up. He looked a lot better, Tiger thought Without a doubt.
“Thanks for the lunch,” the boy said, “I hope I’ll be seeing you soon—” He paused—“I sure hate missing practice tonight—the guy said I might—”
“We’ll see you soon. Don't worry about it.”
The boy grinned, and left the office.
Tiger sat back and relaxed, and thought about things, after Jim left. He had about twenty minutes to go before young Kathy Burns was due to show up. Tiger reflected on things, all sorts of things, including of course the boy who had just left. Certainly it was news to him to have heard of his interest in Jill, not to mention the letter, of course, he had written. Even more interesting, in a way, though not all that much news, in another way, was his dating that peach of a Mona. That hon. He wondered what went on there. He would see if he could find out next time, from Mona. Of course it would have to be a very subtle approach—but, he thought he could swing it. He was good at that, and knew it. What a terrific couple they would make! Tiger suddenly thought of it Jim and Mona! He could recommend her to him, that young lad would have to travel pretty far and wide to find someone more eminently suitable, whatever angle you looked at it. What a girl. That girl. Tiger mused, over her. And the boy. He thought of the many years and many trials and experiences ahead for that young colored lad. Luckily, he was intelligent, and a gifted athlete. He would go to college and if he didn't play pro ball afterward, which he didn’t necessarily have to, due to the quality of his gray matter, he was sure to land a pretty good job somewhere, in whatever area, more or less, he chose to specialize in. What was he interested in? Tiger thought of his Brooder. He recalled that on that Profile he had scored heavily in the Scientific Humanities area, if he wasn’t mistaken, and Tiger very rarely was. So maybe he could go for Medicine, which was a great field, or something similar. He was sure someone would put up the dough. Tiger liked the lad, it was certainly one hell of an inane shame for him to have to go through this show. But then, Tiger mused, glancing quickly back at his own life, Look what I’ve been through! When would Surcher contact him? Tiger wondered. It was hard to predict what that guy would do. When he did, he would certainly tell him just what he thought of his suspicions. . . . Some Policeman, he mused, regretting again the initial rating given him. Well, they were essential, though. Unfortunately essential, Tiger mused, turning his mind to that problem, for a few moments, at least. The innate destructiveness and aggression in Homo sapiens made them essential, of course. Old Corn pone. He sighed and opened up another one of his desk drawers, hauling out a book he had recently acquired, through the good offices of Hetty Nectar, of course. It was a very interesting book, in many respects, and he was finding it not only readable but enjoyable, to a certain extent. Since obtaining it, he had spent at least fifteen or twenty minutes each day, working on it. He
Pretty Maids All in a Row 227 opened it and browsed here and there through it, it was his way of reading it—when he hit a part that appealed to him, he would start taking it in—and concentrate on it. It was an admirable book, the product of many years’ scientific research on the subject by a highly qualified team of medical scientific research workers, of course. He read: The vagina of Human Females in the age group spanning puberty to the mid-thirties, at the minimum, is ready to receive the engorged, fully tumescent, erect penis within a minute, at the maximum, of commencement of a suitable form of sexual stimulation . . . On the whole, Tiger would concur with that finding, though he had not actually ever utilized a stop watch, as the research workers, somehow, obviously had done. . . . Regarding The Breasts . . . He read on—The nipples definitely become erect when the human female is sexually aroused . . . Tiger acknowledged the phenomenon, having long been aware of it, and admired the astuteness of course of the researchers* recognition and detailed observation of it. . . . See Chart 52-C-l(a) ... He would, one day. . . . Definitely. He browsed on: Knee-Chest Position, Secondary ... He preferred primary, and would recommend it, any day. He flipped on, though he would look more closely into that, one day. Supine . . . Lateral . . . They were self-explanatory, practically . . . THE SEX BLUSH. Tiger halted. And concentrated ... The extremely interesting, uniquely human, and almost universal phenomenon of the Sex Blush has not received significantly meaningful attention heretofore . . . Tiger was only too well aware of that. . . . Without a doubt, it is now more than clear that the Sex Blush may take different forms and patterns in different Human Females ... He could vouch for it. . . . Generally speaking, however, it can be different only in clearly defined ways, though it can be definitively stated that it is directly related to the amount and type of Response to sexual stimulation on the part of the particular Human Female . . . Certainly, it was so, Tiger knew, and what a unique way of putting it. Like a gas law—almost. On he read. . . . The Sex Blush tinges the breasts a very delicate rosy pink, and it affects the anterior and superior surfaces first—(See Table 99-ll-a). By slow degrees there then occurs a diffusion of the rosy hue to the (1) undersurfaces of the breasts and (2) the anterior chest wall—just as the phenomenon of Orgasm is on the brink of manifesting itself—in the Female . . . Tiger took note of it, for he hadn’t ever noted this, so far as he was immediately aware, in any event, and certainly it was something to take note of, carefully. In due course of time and circumstances, for in actual essence it was a matter of circumstances, he would explore it. He noted it ... The Blush is not confined to the aforementioned areas, however . . . Tiger was wondering about this. . . . All of the following areas, in one way or another, are affected: The shoulders, the ante cubital fossae, the lower abdomen . . . Tiger nodded. . . . the entire back, in fact, and the thighs and buttocks . . . those magic areas, Tiger murmured, almost . . . The literature in the past has vividly described the state of the Human Female zeroing in on Orgasm . . . Tiger nodded. He himself had on occasion considered making a modest contribution on the matter. ... The post-orgasmic Human Female generally regains conscious contact with her external environment by degrees which can be more carefully perceived by studying Table 52-X-11 (z), as amended ... The following areas at this stage are generally covered in perspiration—(a shimmering sheen, in fact, it can best be described as): The back, the anterior chest wall, the thighs . . . HEAVENLY THIGHS, Tiger interjected, SILKEN SKIN PARADISE, he suggested. . . . He flipped pages, browsing here, there. . . . Masturbation in the Human Female has not been satisfactorily documented before . . . Tiger thought about it. It would be a gap, and no doubt of it. . . . Hundreds of Human Females were involved in our investigation of this phenomenon, under widely varying conditions and situations, from mechanical to manual... A vast spectrum of orgasmic experiences, falling into the normal curve pattern . . . Tiger chortled . . . resulted and were carefully annotated and studied. [See Table 24-Q-VlI(p)]. Two main avenues of investigation were paramount and can now be seen to fall under the salient headings: HOW? and: HOW MUCH? Definitively ... He didn’t doubt it, not a jot of it. He was aware how widespread the phenomenon was—Rochelle, that astonishing girl, had very considerably enlightened him, surprising him, he had to confess. Always, there were things to learn. . . . Now he was examining Figure 16-2 (c), having somehow arrived there. The Penis. It showed several views, not all of them conventional, actually, and extraordinarily well done, no doubt of it. Tiger noted . . . Detumescent (Side View) . . . Tumescent (or Excitement)—(All Views) . . . Peak (or Total) Engorgement . . . Tiger studied them. . . . Cow per's glands in action . . . He noted . . . The artwork was of the highest caliber. He flipped pages. ... The main function, in fact the only validly authenticated and historically implemented function of the tumescent (or Fully Erect) penile shaft has long been known . . . Tiger paused there. He had to. It wasn’t anything he could turn a blind eye to. . . . Penetration . . . He read ... or Mounting of the Human Female is sometimes attempted in the early phases of sexual play . . . Tiger winced, openly almost. . . . This creates a problem, for the Female may not be in fact ready at this particular stage to comfortably accommodate the fully tumescent penile shaft , , , And only a brute would attempt that stupid move. Monumentally stupid, Tiger knew. . . . He flipped pages. . . . The Human Vagina . . . Tiger lingered, briefly, then turned more pages, leaving that for the moment, reluctantly, for another day. He glanced at his watch. It wouldn’t be long. That cute Sophomore. That class had a batch of cuties this year, and she was about the cutest, hands down. He had always thought so in fact, since he had first spotted her on a visit to the elementary school a few yean ago, when she was just finishing up eighth grade. That was it. He recalled thinking at the time. How could anything be so cute? Could it? Now, here she was, a Sophomore, no less. . . . Tiger found he was at the back of the book, leafing through the last few pages of it. Mount, he read, the initial penetration (or thrust) of the erect penis into the vagina at the commencement of coitus <see Erect Penile Shaft). Certainly, it was one way of putting it. Os, he read, mouth or orifice, e.g., the Os of the Uterus. Tiger took note, it was a useful term, in the next Health Education class he would make use of it. Perineum, he read, the area between the thighs. He stopped, almost with a sigh. Paradise. He sighed. Where in the whole of the Universe was there an area so sublime? Divine. It was divine. He checked the time. Gluteal, he read, pertaining to the buttocks . . . Automatically, almost, he gave a thought to Mona's absolutely glorious ones, those superbly supple ones. . . . The phone rang.